Black Shrike [Mass Market Paperback]

Alistair Maclean (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Fawcett (February 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449125580
• ISBN-13: 978-0449125588
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,922,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bleaker than usual for MacLean, but thrilling, November 1, 2000

By 

Tung Yin (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Black Shrike (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Black Shrike" (published in England as "The Dark Crusader") starts as a typical Alistair MacLean thriller, but by the end, it's bleaker than usual. MacLean originally wrote this novel (and "The Satan Bug") under a pseudonym, so he may have been experimenting a bit with his formula.

Anyway, like most MacLean books, the plot is the most important element. The hero is typical MacLean: tough, resourceful, but possessed of emotions such as fear, and gifted with a self-deprecating sense of humor. A number of top nuclear physicists have disappeared, so Benton is set up with a cover guaranteed to attract attention from the wrong elements. Sure enough, he and Marie, another agent posing as his wife, are kidnapped and brought to a seemingly deserted isle. He is forced to work on a secret missile -- the Black Shrike. Can Benton save the day?

The one thing I could never figure out about this novel was, how much physics did Benton know? Was he a physicist who went to work as a secret agent? Or was he a secret agent who was given a crash course in physics?

Not that you'll be thinking about that question as you're reading; the book is thrilling.

Along with "The Guns of Navarone," "Where Eagles Dare," "The Golden Rendezvous," and "The Golden Gate," this is one of the best MacLean novels.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A tough but thrilling tale, February 5, 2006

By 

D. S. Thurlow (Alaska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Black Shrike (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Black Shrike" was one of Alistair Maclean's earlier novels, published under a pseudonym, and Maclean was still experimenting with his writing style. Nevertheless, it holds up well as an exciting story with the kind of twisting Cold War spy plot that would become Maclean's hallmark as a writer.

Bentall, a British physicist seconded for intelligence duties, is sudenly recalled to London from a mission involving the theft of information about British missiles. His boss has a new assignment for him that that involves partnering with a female agent, Marie Hopeman, and travel to the South Seas. Neither the female agent nor the travel are quite as they seem. The plot becomes even more complicated when Bentall and Hopeman finally arrive at the missile test range in the South Pacific and find themselves falling in love even as they try to unravel a plot to steal highly classified missile technology.

The novel really has two endings, one in which Bentall must chose between saving Hopeman and preventing the theft of a missile, and a second in which Bentall finally unravels the last details of the plot with his boss. Although not a standard literary device, the double ending works extremely well and packs considerable emotional punch.

This novel is highly recommended to fans of Alistair Maclean and to the general reader looking for a slightly unorthodox spy story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 2nd Favorite MacLean, June 25, 2007

By 

Mammoth Films "magellan333" (Chattanooga, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Shrike (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel is my 2nd favorite that MacLean wrote (so far). There is plenty of adventure as the story takes many twists and turns. The character of Professor Witherspoon is the one who makes the story great, but there are others too. Fans of MacLean won't be disappointed with this novel nor will one who enjoys reading spy/adventure novels.